


The Stars Above Us

by GoodbyeonBadWolfBay



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Set at the end of Spyfall part 2, sort of a happy ending but we know what happens, the master is shoved up against a wall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:27:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23216245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoodbyeonBadWolfBay/pseuds/GoodbyeonBadWolfBay
Summary: “You are right,” O said, after a brief period of silence. “About the stars putting things in perspective. It sort of… Helps you come to terms with your own mortality,” he paused. “Well, not yours. But mine. Humans. These stars, they’ve been dead centuries, and we can still see them. They still shine, bright as ever. Gives you hope that you’ll be remembered when you’re gone.”After the disastrous events of Spyfall part 2, the Doctor goes back to her TARDIS to reflect, and to look back on some fond memories of her and O. However, she’s quickly interrupted by a man whom she hadn’t expected to see again for a long time.
Relationships: The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who), Thirteenth Doctor/O, Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan), Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 87





	The Stars Above Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThoughtsCascade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThoughtsCascade/gifts).



> This fic is written for my best friend :)

“You humans,” the Doctor said quietly, from her spot next to O. “You spend so much time bumbling about. Always so worried about one thing or another- Job, family, money- that you never take the time to slow down and get a little perspective.” She nodded her head upward. “See that one? Right above us? That’s Andromeda.”

“Ah, yes,” O said with a smile. “The Greek woman that was chained to a rock and rescued by Perseus.”

“Well read!” The Doctor said, grinning back.

“You certainly wouldn’t see a sky like this back in London,” O mused, clasping his hands on his stomach. “Too much light. Too busy. Too many people.”

“Do you miss it?” the Doctor asked, dropping her gaze from the sky to look at O.

“Nah. There’s so much going on. You never really get the chance to just sit and breathe.” He shrugged. “Here... I can. I can actually relax. It’s just so lovely here.”

“Yes,” the Doctor said, gaze never leaving O’s face. “It really is.”

-

It was too easy to get lost in the past. Back when things were simple. Before the Master was back, when all she had to worry about was keeping her fam safe. But it wasn’t the past. It could never _be_ the past, never again. Because Gallifrey was _destroyed_. Her people, dead, once again. Not by her hand, but by the Master’s. The two of them, last of the Time Lords once more. It wasn’t fair.

She let out an enraged scream and hurled the nearest spare part at the wall. 

“It’s not _fair_!”

From behind her came a chuckle. 

“Now, now, Doctor, no need to hurt your TARDIS just because you insist on throwing a tantrum.”

She spun around, panting from the exertion and the raw _rage_.

“Master,” she hissed, taking a step towards him. She took another and another, walking faster, until she was taking hold of the other Time Lord’s lapels and shoving him against the wall of the TARDIS.

He laughed. “My, Doctor, had I known you’d be greeting me like this I’d have fixed myself up-”

“Tell me why you did it,” she snapped, glaring up at the Master.

“Whatever do you mean?” he asked, smiling at her, as if he were perfectly comfortable shoved up against a wall.

She shoved him again. “Don’t act stupid. Gallifrey. You destroyed it. Our _home_. Why?”

He shrugged. “Nothing you haven’t done before.”

-

“Do you have a favorite constellation?” O asked, turning to look at the Doctor. 

She smiled. “Yes, but you wouldn’t know it. It’s from a planet called Nessalun, in the Carasec Galaxy. There’s so many stars in the sky, they almost touch. They look like diamonds. And it’s always night time there, so the people get to experience it always. It’s so beautiful O, you wouldn’t believe it. There’s loads of constellations, but my favorite is Kyinahdela, The Storm.”

“It sounds lovely,” O said, sounding a bit wistful.

“I could take you there, you know,” the Doctor said. “Go see Nessalun, I’ll show you the constellations. They’ve got this great fruit there. Almost like dragon fruit, but with a cantaloupe texture, and it’s also kind of spiky on the outside? Oh, and it’s teal, but you shouldn’t let that stop you from trying it. Never judge a book by it’s cover, or a fruit by its color. Some of the best fruit I’ve had has been teal.”

O shook his head. “I’d love to, I really would, but you know I can’t. I’m not supposed to leave here. Can’t have me getting in trouble.”

“Nah,” the Doctor said, grinning. “We wouldn’t dare have that.”

-

“Don’t you dare,” she growled. “Don’t you _dare_. I did what I had to, I’m not proud of it, but I made it right. You and I are nothing alike.”

“We’re a lot more alike than you might think, Doctor. I did what I had to as well. The Time Lords had to die for what they did.”

“But what did they _do_? Tell me why. Please, I need to know,” the Doctor said, a note of desperation entering her voice.

He laughed. “Like I’d tell you. Like I’d make it that easy. To be quite honest, I don’t think you can handle the truth,” he said, words full of false pity.

She shook her head. “No. It’s more than that, isn’t it? This isn’t some petty revenge, holding the information above my head for your own self pleasure. It’s not that simple. There’s more to it than that. So enlighten me, _Master_ , why won’t you tell me why you destroyed our home?” 

“Don’t try to psychoanalyze me, Doctor. You’re not nearly important enough to warrant any other reason. When it’s time for you to know, you’ll know,” his eyes darkened. “Just know that it was despicable, and they deserved to die.”

-

“You are right,” O said, after a brief period of silence. “About the stars putting things in perspective. It sort of… Helps you come to terms with your own mortality,” he paused. “Well, not yours. But mine. Humans. These stars, they’ve been dead centuries, and we can still see them. They still shine, bright as ever. Gives you hope that you’ll be remembered when you’re gone.”

The Doctor was silent for a very long time. When she eventually spoke, it was after she’d shifted closer to O and taken his hand.

“You know, sometimes I wonder what it is about humanity that I keep coming back for. Why I put up with the short lifetimes, the ignorance. Why Earth is so special. It’s because of people like you. You find hope in the smallest things,” she placed her free hand on his chest, above his heart. “One heart and you still manage to care more than a Time Lord.” 

O gave her a crooked smile. “Dunno about that, I know one Time Lord who isn’t so bad.”

“And who would that be?” the Doctor asked with a laugh.

O put an arm around her, inviting her to curl into him.

“You.”

-

She loosened her grip slightly, pain flashing across her face. “I liked him, you know.” 

The Master furrowed his brow, confused. “Who?”

“O. I liked O. He was nice. He understood me. He cared.”

He rolled his eyes. “Ah yes. ‘Let me show you the stars, O! I can show you all sorts of things, O! You would love the planet Junifet!’” He dusted himself off and adjusted his suit. “Trust me. He didn’t care.”

“You may have faked a lot of things as O, Master, but you couldn’t fake everything. Some part of you was genuine.”

He laughed. “Don’t kid yourself Doctor. You wouldn’t be worth the effort.”

“Whatever you say,” she said, turning her back on him and walking to the console. “Get out of my TARDIS. Come back when you’re ready to give me answers.”

“Gladly,” he snapped, and when she turned around, he was gone.

-

“There’s something about you, O,” the Doctor murmured into his chest. “I don’t know what, but there’s something.”

“Is it a good something?” O asked, running his fingers through her hair.

“Yes,” she said with a smile. “I would go so far as to say it’s a brilliant something.”

“Brilliant’s good. I can work with brilliant,” O said.

“Good. Cause you are. More than. Really O, you’re just… You’re brilliant.”

“It’s not just me,” he said, smiling. “Let’s just say I keep good company.”


End file.
